Push Pull Legs Split: 3, 4, 5 and 6-Day Plans
A push pull legs split trains pushing muscles, pulling muscles and legs on separate days. Full sessions with sets and reps, plus 3, 4, 5 and 6-day schedules.
By the Liftly team · · 11 min read
A push pull legs split (PPL) divides your training into three kinds of workout: a push day for the muscles that press weight away from you, a pull day for the muscles that pull weight toward you, and a legs day. It's one of the most popular splits because each day has a clear job and the muscles you train on one day get to rest on the next.
The short answer: Push = chest, shoulders, triceps. Pull = back, rear delts, biceps. Legs = quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves. Do 5 exercises of 3 sets each day (heavy compounds at 6–10 reps first, lighter isolation work at 10–15 reps after). Run it 3 days a week (each muscle once a week) if you're new or busy, or 6 days a week (each muscle twice) if you can recover from it. 4 and 5 days work too: keep the Push → Pull → Legs order going and let it roll across weeks.
Below: the three workouts with sets and reps, a schedule for 3, 4, 5 and 6 days a week, how many weekly sets each muscle gets on each schedule, how to add weight, and how PPL compares with upper/lower and full body. Every number here comes from a script.
What is a push pull legs split?
The split groups muscles by the movement they do:
| Day | Muscles | Main movements |
|---|---|---|
| Push | Chest, front and side delts, triceps | Bench press, overhead press, dips, raises |
| Pull | Lats, upper back, rear delts, biceps | Rows, pull-ups, pulldowns, curls |
| Legs | Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves | Squats, hinges, leg press, curls, calf raises |
The grouping works because muscles that work together on big lifts get trained together. Your triceps help every press, so they get finished off at the end of push day, when they're already warm. Your biceps help every row, so curls go on pull day. Nothing you train on Monday is the main muscle again on Tuesday.
The push pull legs workout (sets and reps)
These are our sample sessions, not the only right ones. Each day is 5 exercises × 3 sets = 15 sets. Swap any exercise for one that hits the same muscle and suits your gym.
Push day
| Exercise | Sets × reps |
|---|---|
| Bench press | 3 × 6–10 |
| Overhead press | 3 × 6–10 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 × 8–12 |
| Lateral raise | 3 × 12–15 |
| Triceps pushdown | 3 × 10–15 |
Pull day
| Exercise | Sets × reps |
|---|---|
| Barbell row | 3 × 6–10 |
| Lat pulldown or pull-ups | 3 × 8–12 |
| Seated cable row | 3 × 10–12 |
| Face pull | 3 × 12–15 |
| Dumbbell curl | 3 × 10–15 |
Legs day
| Exercise | Sets × reps |
|---|---|
| Squat | 3 × 6–10 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 × 8–10 |
| Leg press | 3 × 10–12 |
| Leg curl | 3 × 10–15 |
| Calf raise | 3 × 10–15 |
A few rules that make these work:
- Heavy first. The compound lift that needs the most energy goes first, while you're fresh.
- Stop 1–3 reps short of failure on most sets. If you're unsure what that means, see RPE vs RIR.
- Warm up with 2–3 lighter sets of the first exercise. They don't count toward the 3 sets.
- Abs can go at the end of any day; 2–3 sets of a crunch or plank variation is plenty.
How long does it take? With 45 seconds per set, 2.5 minutes of rest after compound sets, 1.5 minutes after isolation sets, 2 minutes to move between exercises and an 8-minute warm-up, each of these sessions comes to about 48 minutes. Rest longer and it's closer to an hour.
Push pull legs schedules: 3, 4, 5 and 6 days a week
PPL has three workouts, so it fits a 3-day or 6-day week perfectly. For 4 or 5 days, don't force Push-Pull-Legs into the same weekdays: just keep the order going and pick up where you left off. Here's three weeks of each:
3 days a week
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push | Rest | Pull | Rest | Legs | Rest | Rest |
| 2 | Push | Rest | Pull | Rest | Legs | Rest | Rest |
| 3 | Push | Rest | Pull | Rest | Legs | Rest | Rest |
4 days a week (rotating)
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push | Pull | Rest | Legs | Push | Rest | Rest |
| 2 | Pull | Legs | Rest | Push | Pull | Rest | Rest |
| 3 | Legs | Push | Rest | Pull | Legs | Rest | Rest |
5 days a week (rotating)
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push | Pull | Legs | Rest | Push | Pull | Rest |
| 2 | Legs | Push | Pull | Rest | Legs | Push | Rest |
| 3 | Pull | Legs | Push | Rest | Pull | Legs | Rest |
6 days a week
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push | Pull | Legs | Push | Pull | Legs | Rest |
| 2 | Push | Pull | Legs | Push | Pull | Legs | Rest |
| 3 | Push | Pull | Legs | Push | Pull | Legs | Rest |
Over any three weeks, the rotating schedules give each workout exactly the same number of sessions (4 each on 4 days, 5 each on 5 days), so nothing gets skipped. Missed a day? Do the next workout in the order when you're back; don't skip it to "stay on schedule."
How many sets does each muscle get?
This is where the schedules really differ. We counted the sample sessions above with a simple rule: a set counts as 1 set for the muscle it mainly trains and half a set for a muscle that clearly helps (triceps on bench press, biceps on rows, glutes on squats). Weekly sets per muscle:
| Muscle | 3 days | 4 days | 5 days | 6 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Front delts | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Side delts | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Rear delts | 4.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 9 |
| Triceps | 7.5 | 10 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Upper back | 7.5 | 10 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Lats | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Biceps | 7.5 | 10 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Quads | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Hamstrings | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Glutes | 4.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 9 |
| Calves | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
(4 and 5-day numbers are weekly averages, because the rotation means some weeks have two push days and some have one.)
What does the research say about these numbers?
- More weekly sets, more growth, up to a point. A 2017 meta-analysis (Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, Journal of Sports Sciences, 15 studies) found a graded dose-response: each extra weekly set per muscle was linked to slightly more muscle growth. It grouped studies into under 5, 5–9 and 10+ weekly sets per muscle.
- How often matters less than how much. A 2016 meta-analysis by the same group found training a muscle twice a week beat once a week. Their 2019 follow-up, with more studies, found that when weekly sets are equal, frequency makes no meaningful difference, so you can split the work however suits you.
The practical read: on 3 days a week, most muscles land at 3–7.5 weekly sets with these sessions. That's a fine start for a beginner, but if growth is your goal and you can only train 3 days, add a set or an exercise for the muscles you care about most. On 6 days a week, most muscles reach 9–15 sets. Side delts and calves stay lowest on every schedule, which is why many people add lateral raises to pull day or calf raises to push day.
How to make progress on a PPL split
A split only works if the weights go up. The simplest method for these rep ranges is double progression:
- Pick a weight you can lift for the bottom of the range (6 reps on a 6–10 lift) on all 3 sets.
- Each session, try to add a rep to each set.
- When all 3 sets hit the top of the range (10 reps), add weight next time and start again from the bottom.
How much weight? A sensible jump for a barbell lift is 5 lb (2.5 kg). Lower-body lifts often take bigger jumps early on (10 lb / 5 kg) while they're still moving fast:
| Now | Next |
|---|---|
| 135 lb (60 kg) × 10, 10, 10 | 140 lb (62.5 kg) |
| 165 lb (75 kg) × 10, 10, 10 | 170 lb (77.5 kg) |
| 185 lb (85 kg) × 10, 10, 10 | 190 lb (87.5 kg) |
The first session after a jump often looks like a step back. Say you bench 135 × 10, then move to 140 and get 7 reps. Your estimated max (weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)) goes from 180.0 lb to 172.7 lb. That's normal. Once you work back up to 140 × 10, it's 186.7 lb, higher than before. In kg: 60 × 10 = 80.0, 62.5 × 7 = 77.1, 62.5 × 10 = 83.3.
This is why you need a record of every set. With six workouts and 30 exercises in rotation, nobody remembers what they did on pull day two weeks ago. (More on this in how to track progressive overload, or grab our free workout log template if you prefer paper.)
How to run push pull legs in Liftly
- Log each workout as you go. Logging is free and works offline. Add your push day exercises the first time and log your sets.
- Next push day, open an exercise. Liftly fills in last session's weight, shows last time's reps as grey hints, and "Same as last time" fills them in. Beat one number and you've progressed.
- Watch the estimated 1RM chart on Insights for your main lifts. If bench, row and squat are all flat or sliding for three sessions, it's time for a deload week.
- Save your split (Pro). Save Push, Pull and Legs as a workout split so each day's exercises are ready. Pro also suggests next-session weight targets: when you hit the top of your rep range, it tells you to add weight (+5 lb / +2.5 kg on a two-hand lift, and you can set your own step per exercise).
- Find the weak link (Pro). Muscle ranks (Newbie → GOAT) score each muscle from your logged lifts and bodyweight, so you can see if your back is falling behind your chest on a split that's meant to keep them even.
Liftly's free app shows ads; Pro removes them.
Is push pull legs good for beginners?
Yes, with one change: start with 3 days a week. Each session teaches you a handful of big lifts, rest days come between workouts, and the structure is easy to follow. If you only ever have 2–3 days, a full-body routine trains each muscle more often for the same time, and that's equally fine.
Move to 5–6 days when all of these are true: you've trained consistently for a few months, you're still adding reps or weight most weeks, and you can sleep and eat enough to recover. Six days of PPL is a lot of gym time; if you keep missing sessions, a 4-day split you never miss beats a 6-day split you do half of.
Push pull legs vs upper lower vs full body
| Split | Days | Each muscle per week | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full body | 2–3 | 2–3 times | Beginners, busy weeks, few days |
| Upper / lower | 4 | 2 times | Balanced 4-day schedule |
| Push pull legs | 3 or 6 (4–5 rotating) | 1–2 times | Clear daily focus, 6-day lifters |
| Bro split (one muscle a day) | 5 | Once | People who like long single-muscle days |
Based on the 2019 frequency review above, none of these is clearly better for growth if weekly sets are the same. Pick the one that matches the days you can actually train. The main PPL advantage is focus: one day, one movement pattern, and sessions that don't drag on.
FAQ
What muscles are push, pull and legs?
Push is chest, shoulders (front and side) and triceps. Pull is lats, upper back, rear delts and biceps. Legs is quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Abs can go on any day.
Is a 3-day push pull legs split enough?
It's enough to make progress, especially as a beginner, but each muscle is trained only once a week. With 15 sets a session, most muscles get 3–7.5 weekly sets. If you want more growth on 3 days, add sets for your priority muscles or consider a full-body routine.
How do you do push pull legs 5 days a week?
Keep the order going: Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull one week, then Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, Push the next. Over three weeks each workout comes up five times.
Should I do push pull legs or upper lower?
Upper/lower fits 4 days a week neatly and trains everything twice. PPL fits 3 or 6 days best. When weekly sets are equal, research shows no meaningful difference in growth, so choose by schedule.
What order should push pull legs go in?
Push, Pull, Legs is the usual order, and it spreads things well: legs sits between two upper-body days. Pull, Push, Legs works too. Avoid putting two days that load the same muscles back to back.
Can I do push pull legs with only dumbbells or machines?
Yes. Swap bench for dumbbell or machine press, rows for dumbbell or machine rows, squats for leg press or goblet squats. Keep the same muscle for each slot and the same set and rep ranges.
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